Kathmandu, Nepal – “We Are All Connected”, a short film competition organized on the occasion of International Mountain Day by WWF Nepal in partnership with the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival, gave young people, aged between 16 to 35 years, a platform to articulate their relationship with the natural environment, all packaged into a two-minute video.

The competition received entries from 29 budding filmmakers from various districts of Nepal, out of which seven were shortlisted based on their originality, storytelling and production quality by an independent and non-partial panel of judges comprising young Nepalese filmmakers and media personalities.

The seven shortlisted films were screened and awards were presented to the top three at the first day of the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival coinciding with International Mountain Day. Mr. Rajesh Hamal, WWF Nepal’s Goodwill Ambassador and Nepal’s film icon, together with Ms. Ishani Shrestha, WWF Nepal’s Young Conservation Ambassador and Miss Nepal 2013, were the special guests at the event.

“Now”, an animated video by Mr. Surendra Prajapati, 31 years, was judged the best video which centered on the ‘tree of life’ as the central protagonist and a call for simple actions to help save trees and the planet. The video can be viewed from the following link: http://youtu.be/2kxXKf_twLU

“Urja” or Energy was awarded the second prize which drew a parallel between the lives and behaviors of two different girls of a common age but different societies. Team Ayush, comprising of four young environmental enthusiasts, all under the age of 25, produced the video. The video can be viewed from the following link: http://youtu.be/S2EDe2x-H3g

“Choice”, produced by Nimesh Shrestha, 19 years, was awarded the third prize which depicted the life of a typical teenager living in Kathmandu who cribs and complains about everything until she decides to make a change starting from herself. The video can be viewed from the following link:http://youtu.be/b-2vK_CYUCU

The top three winners were awarded with certificates and cash prizes worth Rs. 50,000, Rs. 30,000 and Rs. 20,000 respectively.

“The environment is what holds us all together, irrespective of where we live,” stated Mr. Rajesh Hamal. “The films screened today are a journey into the minds of our youth and it is their power that can bring us all together for the environment.”

Likewise, Ishani Shrestha shared her experiences with the Miss World pageant, achieving a feat of making it to the top ten, and put it all down to hard work and one’s own initiative, which is also what she felt today’s youth needed when it came to creating change not just for oneself but also for the environment.

In closing, Dr. Ghana S Gurung, Conservation Program Director of WWF Nepal, unveiled the organization’s plans of launching the ambitious youth-driven campaign titled ‘The Generation Green’ that would create newer platforms and opportunities for the youth to engage in change for the sake of a living planet.